*By Samantha Errico* Christmas is on Tuesday, which means Panic Saturday is upon us. Dec. 22 is expected to be the second-busiest shopping day at stores this year, falling short in foot traffic only to Black Friday. Bill Simon, the former CEO of Walmart U.S., told Cheddar Friday that brick-and-mortar retailers are about to have their moment, since "the online guys are done, they can't get it there in time now." Retailers are gearing up for a serious surge in foot traffic on Super Saturday, which is expected to bring in [$26 billion](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/retailers-ready-for-a-surge-of-super-saturday-shoppers.html) ー beating out Black Friday sales by $2 billion. "This is not for the faint of heart," Simon said. Amid the holiday shopping frenzy, Simon's curiosity lies in the "battle of toys." Of the contenders, he acknowledged Amazon for achieving major success online and Target ($TGT) for thriving in-store this season. Back in September, Simon [predicted](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/21/walmart-will-soon-hike-prices-due-to-tariffs-ex-walmart-us-ceo.html) that Walmart ($WMT) would have to hike its prices if the trade war escalated. He said Trump's tariffs won't impact holiday sales this year, but if a trade agreement isn't reached, "I think you can start to see an impact into next year and definitely for next Christmas." Meanwhile, Walmart ($WMT) and Amazon ($AMZN) are battling to "figure out what the next generation of shopping is." "With Amazon investing in physical assets and Walmart investing in digital assets, I would expect the stocks at some point to start looking like each other," Simon said. Amazon recently bought grocer Whole Foods, expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint, and Walmart acquired e-commerce platform Jet in 2016 to conquer online sales. "It's not purely digital like Amazon or purely physical like Walmart used to be, and who figures out that intersection fastest and best I think will win," Simon said.

Share:
More In Business
The Banking Crisis Isn’t Over. But How Bad Will It Get?
Uncertainty continues to pummel the banking industry, despite assurances from financial regulators and bankers such as Jamie Dimon this week that the worst of the recent crisis is over and the health of the banking system remains strong.
April Hiring Gains Reflect a Still-Resilient US Job Market
America’s employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising strength despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy.
Celebrating AAPI: Entrepreneur Discusses Bringing Japanese Snacks to the World
Danny Taing, founder and CEO of Bokksu, joined Cheddar News to discuss his path on how he became an entrepreneur to launch a company that delivers artisanal Japanese snacks. "When I moved back from Japan to New York, I had this bit of reverse culture shock ... a lot of people had somewhat of a one-dimensional view of Japan ... they saw this country where people ate sushi every day ... none of that is true," he said.
WSJ: Food Workers Union Opposing Kroger-Albertson's Deal
The United Food and Commercial Workers union, one of the country's largest, opposed the planned merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertson's, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing concerns about lack of information and the potential viability of stores upon closing.
Load More